Black and White - A Shinigami Tale
by ABondStrongerThanBlood
Summary: Nina, recently departed, has become a Shinigami. She, like all the others, has to begin her long journey to become a full Shinigami. Her roommate Jon, soon become s her love interest, but Ronald Knoxx won't leave her alone. When she finds her family ring belonging in Ronald's bed side table, she's curious, who sent it? Why did Ronald have it? What if he was her BROTHER?
1. Prologue: A Quick Ending

To be or not to be. That is the question.

~ Hamlet – William Shakespeare.

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Prologue: A Quick Ending**

I don't remember much about how I died.

Just snippets of it.

Blackness and screaming. Flashing Lights then white strip lights blinding my eyes. Doctors and nurses Yelling.

Red hair.

I remember the red hair the most.

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**Chapter 1: Welcome to the London Division**

I stared at myself in the mirror. The black clothing made me look bad ass, although my mother was right. I do look like a goth. Brushing this off I put the standard boring glasses on and walked out of the changing room. Many other people, around me age, were milling around waiting for something to happen. Picking a book off the shelf I attempted to make myself look busy, although I probably looked rather awkward. The first page had someone's name scrawled on it, surrounded by red hearts.

Grell Sutcliff.

Well whoever it was they had a bad taste in fiction. I started reading the first chapter but an uneasy feeling washed over me, making me shiver although it wasn't cold. I tired to ignore it but it would go away. Peeking slightly from my not-so-interesting-book I saw him from across the crowded room. He looked pretty average, nothing particularity interesting about him.

_Crap. He's coming over..._ I thought as I hastily busied myself, once more, with my not-so-interesting-book.

"Hello, my name is Jon O'Connor"

Hell. He had an Irish accent. +1 point.

"Hi... I'm Nina Murphy." I struggled to get my words out. Seriously what was wrong with me?

"I like what you're wearing."

I peered self consciously at myself. Currently I wore black leather shoes, black jeans, a black short sleeved shirt and a white tie. Then I inspected what Jon was wearing. He looked a little bit like a magician, just without the cape and top hat.

"I like what you're wearing." I replied repeating his exact words and tone.

_Wow Nina, you're an idiot. Say something; anything!_ I mentally hit myself.

"What are you reading?" He asked as he inspected the cover of the book. "Twilight. The greatest love story of the year. Interesting choice."

Before I could defend my remarkable taste in books or embarrass myself any further a tall man entered the pristine white room.

"Hello, my name is William T. Spears. Welcome to the Shinigami Dispatch Association, London division. It is a pleasure to meet you all." He paused. "We are on a tight schedule and we are currently nine minutes late. You may blame Mr. Sutcliff for the minor disturbance, but let us not waste any more time. I shall take you on a tour of the Shinigami Dispatch Association head quarters. Particularly the library and the cinematic records. Mr Sutcliff will proceed with the tour after lunch and sort out your living arrangements. Any questions raise a hand and no wondering off on your own. Now let us begin."

There is was again.

Sutcliff. And just like that we were herded out of the room with far greater speed then I thought possible. The rest of the head quarters was white as well. We were split into smaller groups and proceeded with our tour. William lead us off into a separate part of the institute. We approached a grand double set of doors and silently, we filed in.

"Now don't touch anything. We don't want you to change the whole course of history by adding curse words to these records." William continued his lecture on cinematic records as I walked towards an open book on a nearby table. The bookshelves stretched from ceiling to floor and covered this entire floor and many other by the looks of it as well. Surprised I saw words appearing on the page.

"Blackness and screaming. Flashing Lights then white strip lights blinding my eyes. Doctors and nurses yelling."

It was mine. My cinematic record. What was it doing on the desk? Open. Maybe I could rewrite my life. Maybe -

"Miss Murphy I have told you not to go wondering off on your own." I turned round to come face to face with Will. He was holding my shoulders in place and was only inches away from my face. His eyes were searching my eyes and he breath was soft against my lips.

"Sorry sir. It won't happen again" I stuttered. Man what was wrong with me today? It seems I cannot talk to any boy without stuttering.

We exited the library and started down another immaculate corridor. Will continued to talk about the history of the London Division as we entered, what I assumed was the weapons room. Inside was many different types of death scythes most of which were garden tools. I couldn't wait to get my own one and customise it. I started daydreaming about what kind I want. _A red leaf blower with gold trim._ I thought.A young man was leaning against the wall next to a bright red lawn mower. He was smirking and looking directly at me. He didn't stop staring at me until I had left the room.

Creep.

Soon enough lunch arrived and with it, where to sit. I choose a table on the outside of the lunch hall. Away from everyone else and away from conversations.

"May I sit here?" I jumped and found Jon standing not an inch away from me, laughing. Damn him. Although he did have a sexy laugh. +5 points.

I nodded as he sat and begun to eat his food. He kept looked at me and continued to do every now and then. I just stared at the table and did my best to ignore him.

"What's wrong?" He asked sounding genuinely concerned. How sweet.

"Nothing." I'm sure my one word answers were irritating him but I was not one for in-depth conversation. Besides I had other things to ponder. Such as the creepy guy from the weapons room. Why was he staring at me and what did he want? That's when I spotted him across the room.

He was laughing, his arms draped across two girl's shoulder. Man, he was a creep. Our eyes linked and he stopped smiling. I looked away hesitantly and continued to pick at my lunch.

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 2: Falling Maiden**

Our group gathered once more and were met by red head, Mr. Sutcliff. Grell was a flamboyant and most of what he wore had red on it.

Red hair. I froze. 'Could this be him?' I thought as we got ushered along by Grell. Soon I began to tire of his continuous nattering and I zoned out. Once again my brain went back to the creepy guy from the weapons room.

"Let's go." Jon whispered down my neck. Not creepy at all.

"What?" I replied back.

"You heard. Let's go and explore this place for ourselves."

"But Will said that we shouldn't wander -"

"No wandering off on your own," He interrupted repeating Will's earlier instructions. He grabbed my arm and yanked me down one of the many corridors. "But if you're with me, neither of us are technically alone."

Now put yourself in my shoes. You are currently being dragged down a massive top secret head quarters for a super secret organisation for soul reapers, by a guy you met only a couple of hours earlier. Where does he take you?

If you guessed the most romantic place, the toilets, then give yourself -26 points.

"Jon. When you said you wanted to explore this place, I didn't think you meant the boy's bathroom. Now if you don't mind I am going to wait outside, this place is... icky." Not bothering to wait for an answer, I stalked out of the bathroom and straight into someone. Before I could fall he caught me and held me in his arms.

"Careful there, young lady. I am a trained to catch falling maidens but I am currently not on duty." I looked up. He had blonde hair, black at the ends. His eyes were sparkling and alive with amusement, as if he found me funny. His glasses were thick rimmed and his smile was impeccable. +4 points for smile.

"I know you. You're the creep from the weapons room." I said. His eyes looked hurt but the smile on his face remained as he said " Ronald Knoxx at your service." He helped me up and checked I was okay before continuing. "Now what is a young girl like you doing coming out of the boys bathroom? Weren't doing anything illegal were you?" He winked.

"I have a name and it's not young girl. It's Nina and what I was doing inside the boys bathroom is none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me." Attempting to barge past him but he stuck he left arm out, creating a barrier in front of me.

"You've got guts. It takes courage to talk back to a full shinigami. Now come on darling, why don't you and I have some fun?"

'Unfortunately' I never found out what Ronald meant by fun because Jon strode out of the bathroom. He looked at Ronald and then at me.

"Hello, My name is Ronald Knoxx." He shook hands with Jon who just stared at him coldly. Ronald turned to me and said "This is where I leave you Miss Nina. I shall see you around."

Jon linked arms with my own and began to drag me away. I sneaked a quick peak over my shoulder and saw Ronald leaning against the wall staring back at me.

Weirdo.

"Ah! Mr. O'Connor and Miss Murphy. How nice of you two to join us. Now everyone listen up!" Grell clapped his hands dramatically and the rest of the group gathered round. He paired us up and showed each of us our rooms in turn.

Mr. Sutcliff explained how newcomers were buddied with an experienced and skilled shinigami so they can help guide and support, as he showed us our new room. Three beds occupied each corner of the large room. Only one bed looked ready to sleep in. The covers of the bed were black with a white lawn mower on it. The walls around the bed were plastered with posters of lawn mowers and random girls.

_Seriously who puts pictures of lawn mowers on the wall?_ I thought as I walked to an unoccupied bed. Next to each bed was a small work desk. A large black sofa adorned with pillows occupied the area under the window and a door on the left opened up to a small bathroom. There was even a little kitchenette at the back of the room.

I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. It was peeling and cracked in places. A sudden idea came to me. I rummaged through my suitcase and pulled out a book. The book held many photos, postcards, letters and posters from my previous life. It was sort of weird to think as myself as dead but not dead. Surely that made me some sort of vampire? I cast the vampire thoughts from my mind and started tacking the photos and posters to the walls. Shelving units had been nailed to the wall above the bed. I placed my exceedingly small book collection on them. It started feeling like my old bedroom. Lastly I grabbed my iPod and speakers and plugged into the outlet and dumped my suitcase in the wardrobe.

"I might be proud, but least I'm proud of something, you've taken pride, in becoming nothing!"

"Nina! Turn the singing down a notch!" Jon, who I had sort of forgotten about was stood before me, dripping wet with only a towel around his waste. +7 for abs.

I stared at him, You Me At Six blaring in the background. He blushed and grabbed his clothes from his already made bed and legged it back into the bathroom.

A small knock on the door broke the silence and a young girl entered the room. She was young, tanned and small. Her attire consisted of a long sleeved white shirt with dark green detail. Over that she wore a black wait coat and black shorts. Strangely she wore no shoes and her glasses looked like the brown aviator type.

"Sorry, I did not mean to intrude. Mr. Spears has asked me to find Mr. Knox." She stood awkward at the door playing with the fraying edges of her wait jacket.

"Would you like to come in? I have Coffee? Or if you're feeling particularly bad ass we can pinch some of Ron's tea. So what will it be?"

"Coffee. Just nothing too strong please." She walked over to my bed and sat on the edge.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Lilian T. Spears. You are?"

_No way she was related to William?_

"Nina Murphy. Sorry for asking but are you related to William T. Spears?" She nodded and smiled.

"Yes, Will can be a hot head at times but we cannot choose our family. Besides he is a good brother." I carried our coffee over to the bed and she sipped her coffee.

At that moment, Jon walked out dressed in his magician (without the cape and top hat) clothes.

"Who are you?"

"How rude, you might have the decency to at least ask in more of a polite manner. My name Is Lilian T. Spears. And you are?"

"Jonathan O'Connor. I'm sorry. Being rude was not my intention." An awkward silence filled the air.

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 3: Damn Ron**

A booklet, which included: my timetable, extra curriculum and map of the institute, was placed at the end of my bed.

Sitting up, I looked round the dimly lit room. Jon was wearing black pyjamas and his hair was still perfectly in place. Ronald on the other hand, had somehow fallen out of his bed and was currently lying on the floor snoring gently. Climbing out of bed, I walked over to him and rearranged his glasses so they sat properly on his nose. He looked sort of peaceful in his sleep. His mouth wasn't smirking like normal making him look younger. +2 points. For cuteness.

"Couldn't help being parted from me darling?" -5 points.

I scowled and stalked towards the bathroom but not after gently kicking Ronald in the stomach making him groan. That felt good.

Despite the institute having state of the art facilities, the shower was doubtful. The dial that controlled the temperature had be in the perfect place or the water was scolding hot or ice cold. I stepped cautiously into the shower and started to wash my hair with shampoo. Half way through my shower I heard the door open and close. I froze.

_What the hell does he think he's doing?_ I thought as I cursed under my breathe.

"So exactly why where you staring at me this morning?"

Ron.

"Ronald! Get the hell out. I'm taking a shower!" I yelled over the running water.

"Chill woman."

I stuck my head around the curtain.

"You want me to chill? Dude you're in the bathroom while I'm taking a shower. Pervert! Get the hell out!" He didn't leave.

Man he was persistent.

"Ow! Your violent! You know there are easier ways to get Jon's attention then throwing shampoo bottles at people!"

I sighed.

"Get out."

"Welcome to the history of cinematic records. My name is William T. Spears as I'm sure you already know. Open your books to page 394 and we shall begin."

Text books that had been placed on the desk before we had come in were now being flicked through. The book its self was leather bound and the pages so thin I was afraid I would rip them.

"A cinematic record can be described, if you like, as a document of an individual's life. A human consists of body and soul. When their body wither and dies it is up to us as grim reapers to collect their souls and review them-"

_Could William make this lesson any more tiresome?_ I checked my watch and groaned. Only one hour and fifty two minutes to go.

"Good morning all," Ronald looked at me. " Ah Nina, so nice to see you again." My brain started wondering what would happen if I were to tie each of his limbs to the end of a lorry. Wait, shinigamis can't die by anything other then a death scythe. Damn.

"Ronald Knoxx at your service," he bowed and smiled. "Get into partners." Immediately I looked at Jon. Everyone one else seemed to scramble round finding their friends and pairing up with them.

"When on duty, you may find some souls are a little harder to reap then others, or people are just stupid and won't die. In times when you cannot use your death scythe, you may have to resort to hand to hand combat." Ronald continued to talk then showed us the basics. Stretching, exercising then manoeuvres.

Circles had been drawn around the large hall. Each partner had to try and knock the opponent out of the ring.

'This was like army camp' I thought as I ducked a punch from Jon.

"Keep your guard up Nina, you're letting it drop." Ronald shouted from outside the ring.

'Easy for you to say' I thought bitterly. Jon and I were fighting using the first basic manoeuvres. I should have paired with some one smaller. Crap.

"Shut your mouth Ron and maybe I could concentrate on not losing." And at that moment Jon sent a flying kick right in my chest, knocking me out of the ring and straight into Ronald.

I hit the floor and Ron landed on top of me.

"We have got to stop meeting like this." He whispered in my ear and winked before helping me up. -7 Points.

"Okay class. That's enough for today, well done." Ronald yelled over the grunting and shouting of the class. Jon walked over to check I was okay while the rest of the class peeled away for weapons training.

Lunch could not have been more welcome. Grell had worked us to the bone with different ways to use death scythes and other weapons. I had been rather good I thought until I hit Grell. That was probably due my lack of hand-eye coordination.

I sat down at the usual table and waved Jon over.

"How was weapons training?" He asked as we tucked in to our fish and chips.

"Awful. I hit Grell with a flying dagger. Me and aiming do not go well together." I grimaced as I remembered the high pitched screech that came from Mr. Sutcliff earlier on. Jon threw his head back and laughed. Man he really did have a sexy laugh.+10 Points.

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 4: Grell 3 Jon**

Jon and I lay in a pile of papers. We were 'revising' for a quiz that William had promised us on Thursday.

"Alright, which famous shinigami is responsible for reaping the most important cinematic record?" Asked Jon rolling on his front and facing me.

"Um. Not you." I answered knowing the answer was wrong.

"Clever but no. Tickle punishment!" Jon shouted as he threw the papers aside and started tickling me.

"No Jon! Damn you!" In my attempt to kick him, I knocked over Ronald's bedside cupboard. The content of the top drawer spilled out revealing many lawn mower magazines, a gym subscription, pens and several envelopes.

"Oh crap. Jon help me put this back in place." While Jon put the cupboard back, I retrieved the scattered contents. I stopped when I found the letters. Each was hand written and carefully scrawled on.

"Wait this one's addressed to me." I said quietly.

"What? Why would it be addressed to you?" Jon said leaning over me.

I ripped open the letter and a ring and piece of paper fell out.

"To Miss Nina Murphy.

Your brother was in possession of this when he died. Nina you never told me you had a brother." Jon said lowering the letter.

"I think I might of known if I had a brother." I replied sarcastically. I held the ring in my left hand and inspected it.

"He told me before he died that this ring must make it back to you. From A family friend." Jon finished. "What's Ronald doing with the ring if it's yours?"

"I don't know but I plan to find out."

I couldn't sleep that night. My thoughts kept rotating back to the ring and the possibility that Ron could be my brother. It didn't help that Jon was snoring and mumbling. Ron was once again on the floor. Not being able to stand it any longer, I pushed back my dark green covers and slipped quietly out of bed. As I approached the door I heard Jon groaning.

"Man what time is it?" He yawned and I rushed over to cover his mouth with my hand. His eyes snapped open in surprised, then calmed when he realised it was me. He gently removed my hands away from his lips and withered "Nina? What the hell are you doing up at shinigami knows what hour of the night?"

"Going to chase the tooth fairy." He looked at me his eyes flicked with amusement. The moonlight streaming in from the window made his hair glow with a silver light. "I couldn't stop thinking about the ring. I want to know Jon. I want to know if the moron snoring over there is related to me."

He smiled and grabbed my hand yanking me to the door.

"Then I coming with you." Jon said quietly before pushing the door open, flooding the room with light.

The corridors were dark and only the flash light I held cast any illumination. We'd been running for a while and I was getting tired. "Jon! Stop running! Slow down! I can't breathe!" I yelled, laughing. Jon was still holding my hand and laughing with me. We stopped running as we approached a large set of white double doors. Fortunately we had encountered no one on the way to the Cinematic Record library. The doors opened silently and we walked in. The floor was freezing and only then did I realised how unprepared I was. My feet were lacking shoes and my pyjamas were doing nothing to keep out the massive chill in the air. Shivering, I walked over to the table where my cinematic record had been previously. It wasn't there. Jon came up behind me and wrapped his dressing gown around me. Spinning round I found him smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back, he had a contagious grin. +5 Points.

"So where is you cinematic record?" Jon asked.

"I don't know. It was here last time." Taking a step back, I came in contact with the table. Jon placed his hands either side of me. My eyes widen.

_What is he doing?_ I thought frantically my breath quickening.

"It's all right Nina. We'll find it. Together." He whispered by my ear. Leaning down, he cupped my face in his hands and, with all the gentleness I expected, he kissed me. He smiled into the kiss and I smiled too.

"Together." I nodded as Jon took my hand in his and we ran up the corridors of books.

"Wait, have you checked this one?" Jon asked.. We had flickered through countless books and we still hadn't found my cinematic record.

"I don't think we're going to find it." I sighed. Jon crawled over to me and hugged me.

"Nina. We'll find it-" Jon was cut off by the sound of footsteps.

"Oh did I interrupt the love birds intimate moment?" A high pitched voice said. Grell. Sure enough red head Grell was stood in front of us, wearing the most ridiculous pink nightgown I had ever seen.

"What are you doing here Grell?" I asked frantically.

"Never mind that, what the hell are you wearing?" Jon asked standing up.

"I have you know this is Prada! Although I'm sure an attractive young man, such as yourself, would prefer it off" Grell ran over to Jon who simply stuck his foot out causing Grell to fall.

"Sorry Grell." I began, "Promise me you won't tell anyone we where here."

Grell looked up at me and grinned. His shark like teeth unnerved me.

"I am afraid that is completely out of the question." Grell said grinning.

"What do you want Grell? I'll give you anthing." I asked starting to get a little annoyed. "Jon. You can have Jon all to yourself for a whole day." I bargained. Jon's eyes opened wide but before he could protest Grell replied, "I'm sorry but as a senior member of staff, it is my duty to-"

"Two days." I was getting impatient.

"- report anyone-" Grell continued.

"Three days." Jon's eyes where getting wider and wider.

"- who is out of bed -"

"A WEEK GRELL! A week. You can have Jon for a week and do what you want with him." Jon breath caught and he sunk to the floor. I felt bad for him, I just sold a week of his life to Grell. Grell's grin grew and he simply replied. "Deal."

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 5: Spin The Bottle**

A week Later

"He did what?" I asked. Currently I was sat on my bed hugging my legs like a little child. Jon was perched on the other end, recalling the events of his past week with Grell.

"I told you, he made me play dress up with him and for the majority of of last week he called me 'Sebast-chan' or 'Bassie' who ever that is" I giggled as I tried to imagine Jon in a wig and butler outfit.

"Well I'm glad you're back. I missed you." I said quietly. He leaned down and kissed me gently. "Since you're back, you can help me find my cinematic record."

"Still searching for it darling?" He asked sighing.

"Please don't call me darling," I said thinking back to the time Ron had called me that. "and of course I am still looking for it. It's important Jon."

Instead of saying anything Jon hugged me. His strong arms wrapped around me and I leaned into him. He smelled of freshly cut grass. +4 points.

A small knock echoed around the room. Jon and I sprang apart and I hastily opened the door.

"Oh Lilian, would you like to come in?" With Jon gone, I had found myself spending more and more time with Lilian so I didn't get bored or lonely.

"No thank you Nina, actually I was wondering whether you and Mr. O'Connor would be willing to come for a picnic. You see I organise one every year and since we have become such good friends..." She trailed off and stood awkwardly at the door.

"Jon grab some food, we going to a picnic." Lilian's eyes lit up and she entered the dorm to help pack some food into bags.

I couldn't help but smile, Lilian had brought them to the roof of the building. There were millions of flowers and plants decorating the roof and that coupled with the gorgeous weather made me feel great. Like nothing could ruin my day. But of course that dream got shattered quickly when I saw a certain shinigami laying across the picnic blankets.

"You staring at me again darling?" Ronald smirked as he sat up and stretched. I thought about my lessons with Grell. It would take a second to reach my dagger hidden in my sleeve, a second more to throw it and one more for it to find it's target.

"Alright, everyone. This is Nina and Jon, this is there first time at one of these picnics, so I expect a first class food fight, alright?" Lilian yelled over the separate conversations. "Come on Jon, Nina." She grabbed our arms and yanked us towards the food table where she told us to help ourselves. I grabbed a paper plate and filled it mainly with little cakes and party rings. I had not had party rings in years and I was eager to see if they still tasted the same. They did.

"Elle! Come meet Jon and Nina!" Lilian cried as she huged a red head shinigami.

"Hey Nina, Jon." She nodded to each of us in turn. "I'm Elle. Hey I know you! My brother made you dress up as Sebastian!" she placed her cup of apple juice down and inspected Jon. "I suppose you have similar build and you're roughly the same height."

"Who is this Sebastian?" Jon whispered to me. I shrugged and continued to eat my little cakes. So Elle was Grell's brother. Apparently the red hair runs in the family. However, unlike her brother, Elle was humorous and not as irritating.

"James!" Lilian called. A blonde shinigami was approaching them with a wide grin on his face. In his hand was graded papers.

"Lilian! I passed! I am officially below average!" Together yelled and celebrated. Lilian dragged me up too and we all hugged. It was kind of awkward since I didn't know James but Lilian soon introduced us.

"James, Nina. Nina, James. James is my cousin. Come on, we're going to play some games." She was so full of energy. How can she be so energetic? To my surprise, everyone had cleared their food away and were sat in a wide circle. A wine bottle was placed in the middle of the circle. Spin the bottle. Oh Shinigami. What made it more awkward was that I didn't know anyone that well apart from Jon and Lilian. Lilian spun first and it landed on Jon. Jon started blushing furiously. They crawled to the centre of the circle and quickly pecked each other on the lips. Lilian started to giggle and everyone cheered as they made their way back to the edge.

"Don't hate me, but Jon is a good kisser." Lilian whispered to me as Jon started to spin the bottle. I laughed a bit and shook my head. It was just a stupid game right?

The bottle spun round and round and it landed on me. Crap. At least it was Jon and not someone I didn't know.

"Lets get this over with." I muttered as I made my towards Jon.

"Come one princess. Try to look like you enjoyed the kiss." Jon said seductively in his Irish accent. He winked at me and I felt sick. I had kissed Jon before, of course I had, but they had always been in private. Kissing in front of all these people would be weird. Jon didn't give me a chance to compose myself, as he cupped his hands around my face and planted a kiss on my lips. Everything sort of disappeared for a bit. It was just Jon and I. Jon deepened the kiss and I started laughing. Lilian was right. He was a good kisser. +47 points. We broke the kiss and Jon went back to his place in the circle as I spun the bottle. This time it landed exactly opposite me and my eyes widened as I realised who I would have to kiss.

Ron.

I froze. No there was no way in hell I was kissing him. No. No. No.

He crawled forwards and pulled me towards him. Next thing I knew, his lips where on mine. It felt so wrong. I wished it would stop but Ronald had his hand held behind my head so I couldn't pull away. I looked at Ron and tried to signal to him that I wanted to stop. Everyone was going mental. Whooping and cheering. Idiots. Only Jon was the only one not cheering. His face was transfixed in Ron. He looked like he was trying to kill Ron using the force. In the end I had to kick Ron to stop him from kissing me. I got up and exited the roof.

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 6: 72 hours.**

I didn't know where I was going, I just let my feet take me where they wanted to go. After about an hour of wondering the Division, I found myself in the training room. I walked to the wall of weapons and grabbed a set of daggers from the wall. I had truly awful hand-eye coordination but I knew that throwing things would calm me down. I threw the first dagger and it lodged into one of the crash mats. I didn't really concentrate on where I was throwing the daggers. So when someone walked through the door I automatically threw a dagger in that direction.

"Bloody hell!" Jon. As I watched him walk towards me, I noticed his arm was bleeding.

"Oh shinigami! Did I hit you?" I said, running to him.

"No. It's alright. Don't worry about it. I thought you said you had bad coordination." Jon said as he hugged me. "You're still angry. You need to hit something." I realised he was right. As usual. Jon was just a distraction. He walked towards the cage and I followed. The cage was a raised part of the training room with chain link fence. Before you went in, you had to remove any thing sharp objects, like rings or bracelets. I was too frustrated to put on the proper 'soft' gear, so I entered in my jeans and t-shirt. Jon had taken of his shirt and yanked his belt from his jeans and discarded them on the floor. He had barely entered when I threw several punches. I threw my right hand and punched Jon in the face. He easily deflected them and attempted to sweep my legs from under me, trying to bring the fight to the floor which was his speciality. Rolling, I leapt up before he could capture me under him, sending a round house kick to his head as I did so. He brought his arms up to block and pulled me into a clinch and then pushed me back against the chain link fence. He leaned his shoulder into my sternum and forced the air from my lungs. As I struggled for breathe, he pinned my wrists above my head. This put him completely in power. I waited for the inevitable punches.

"You improved since the last time I fought you." He commented through gritted teeth.

"It's called practise." I replied. He just grinned. I took the opportunity to break one of my wrists from his hold and hit him in the gut. Jon grunted and then lunged to take my legs out. He slammed me into the ground and straddled me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as an attempt to cut off his air. He was using all his strength to keep me down. I glared up at him. If he was battling Ron, or James even, he would start hammering on the guy under him in a move called 'ground and pound'. But Jon didn't hit me. In fact, I realized that although his face was bruised and his lip was cut, he hadn't taken one swing at me. He was doing this for me. So I could work out my frustration. He trying to help me. When I realized this, my anger vanished and I went stiff under him.

"Thank you." I whispered quietly. Jon released me slowly and sat back on his heels. I sat up and rubber my sore wrists.

"Ronald and I talked after you went off." He said leaning against the fence.

"Uh-huh, what did he say?" I asked placing my head in his lap and he began to stroke my hair.

"I don't know, I punched him before he got the chance to open his mouth." He chuckled.

That night, I didn't feel ready to face Ron. Jonathan and I went for a walk around the grounds. It was late and the moon was full. The grounds were mainly used for training exercises. To the right was the woods. We would often practise there, so we could get used to being in different surroundings. There was also a lake to the right, were we trained to fight in water. Those were the worst lessons. I would always come out soaking and desperate for a shower. But tonight, Jon had laid out a blanket and candles. A blue and red box was laid at the end.

"Is that Domino's pizza!?" I asked. I hadn't had pizza in ages. The division, they were big on healthy food, so hot dogs, burgers and pizzas were a rare sight.

"Yeah, had to pay a full shinigami to buy it, and the coke." He said. He looked rather awkward. Since it was the weekend , shinigamis were aloud out of their uniform. Jon wore a dark green sweater and jeans. On his feet he wore chocolate coloured conversers. A hand was stuck in his jeans pocket and the other was holding my own. I wore a plain white tank top, with my favourite grey leather jacket. I also wore jeans and conversers. However mine where black.

We sat on the blanket, ate and talked.

"You cannot say that Luigi is better than Mario!" I protested.

"Mario is over rated." He replied.

"Maybe, but Sonic would beat both of them." I countered.

"Ah, but Shadow is far cooler."

"He is not. Dark Gaia, would be."I say throwing the crust of pizza at him.

"Fine you win, you win!" He laughed. "What what about silver?"

"Ah. Silver hasn't got the same power as Dark Gaia."

"Ok, How about music?"

"Ah, well I like You Me At Six. Which you already know." We laughed as we remembered Jon walking in on me, singing Bite My Tongue. " How about you."

"I like Imagine Dragons, Jack Johnson, Alexi Murdoch. Indie music really." He said as he started eating my left over crusts. I stared at him and thought about different he was to Ron.

"JON! NINA!" Lilian was running full pace, in her pyjamas. As usual she wasn't wearing shoes. "JON! NINA!"

"Woah, Lily, calm down. What's up?" I asked grabbing her cold hands. She breathed deeply and replied,

"It's Ron. He's gone."

"So there's no problem." Jon said. She whacked him.

"Ron is gone, he's not gone on an assignment, I checked with Will. Your room is empty. I checked everywhere. No one's seen him either."

"Are you sure?" I asked. She nodded.

"Why is this a big deal?" Jon asked.

"Any shinigami who isn't with Division, are classed as rogue. Before they show them selves to any humans and reveal who they really are, we have to hunt them down." She paused. "And then kill them." I stare at her. Although Ron had been nothing more than a jerk to me, I didn't want him to die. I wouldn't want anyone to die.

"What do we do?"

Lilian had gotten permission from Will to search for Ronald. According to Lily, we had exactly 72 hours to search for him and bring him back. Other wise we would have to class him as rogue and forced to execute him. That gave us three days to find him. Our chances weren't looking exactly brilliant. Lily had told me to meet her at the front entrance of the building with everything you might need for a three days, excluding drinks and food. Apparently that was provided. Jon and I raced back to our dorm.

I search under my bed for my back pack. Lilian wanted to leave as soon as possible and I was not going to be the one who kept her waiting. I grabbed three pairs of jeans and t-shirts and shoved them into the back pack. I also packed City of Bones by Cassandre Clare to keep my entertained in case. I also dumped my iPod into the bag and then at the last moment I went to Ronald's cabinets and threw them open. Inside were a few t-shirts scattered around and tea bags. Under the heap were daggers, bow and arrows, a gun and even a cross bow. I grabbed the daggers and gun, handed Jon the bow and arrows and cross bow and then legged it out the room. By the time we reached the front entrance, Lilian was already there. She was dressed in a dark navy sweater with black jeans and boots. The standard death scythe was strapped to her belt and a mean looking dagger. A back pack was slung across one shoulder. She was talking to the blonde shinigami from the picnic.

_What was his name? Josh? Jack? No, wait James. _I thought as I approached them. James held his death scythe in his hand. He looked pretty bored.

"Great you're here." Lily said as I approached her. I looked around. There was seven of us in total. Lily, James, Jon, Elle, William, Cassie and me. According to Lilian, we were the last to see Ronald before he disappeared. Everyone was grim looking apart from James who looked bored. Lily pushed open the doors to the Division and began walking down the path. We all followed.

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 7: Seven To The Rescue**

We had been walking for about two hours when we stopped. It was about three in the morning and I was about to collapse from exhaustion. William and Cassie began to gather firewood. They looked very alike, probably siblings. They shared the same dark straight hair, the same slightly pointed ears. Their eye brows had the same mischief arch. I remembered them from the rooftop picnic. Elle had begun to set up a tent. It was huge. Jon and James were talking so I walked over to Elle to help her set up.

"So how long have you to been dating?" Was the first thing she said to me.

"Sorry?"

"You and Jon?"

"Um, It's not really official. Yet." I said as I shoved a pole into the sleeve of the tent.

The weather was humid and I suspected there would be a storm soon. The tent was up and everyone filed inside. The tent had spare chambers and a huge middle section for all the food and water was stored. William handed out food while I handed out water. I couldn't help but think that Cassie, William, James and Lily had done this before. Since most of had already eaten before we left we only had a packet of crisps and some fruit. We paired up and took a chamber each. Naturally Jon followed me into our part of the tent. I unrolled the sleeping mat I was given and then the sleeping bag. Despite it, I could still feel the hard ground poking through the mat. Jon pulled his next to mine and fell asleep almost instantly. Although I was tired, sleep managed to evade me. I started thinking about the letter and the ring in the Ron's desk.

_I should of brought it with me._ I thought, cursing quietly. Realising I would get no sleep, I crawled silently from our chamber unzipped the front of the tent and stepped out. The air was still humid, but it was as hot as it had been. I lay on the ground and stared at the stars. I didn't know many constellations, but I found the North Star and the Big Dipper.

"Beautiful aren't they?" I sat up. James slowly walked towards me.

"Are you on guard duty?" I asked, lying back down. James lay down next to me. He was a taller than Jon by an inch or so. His hair was golden and shone in the pale moon light. His skin was very pale. Although his lips, I noticed, were deep red. He was good looking.

"Yeah, I am. Although I know these woods. I also know, that nothing is going to randomly attack us in the middle of the night. So I don't see a reason to have a guard." He said. His breathing was slow and even. I was caught in the trance of watching his chest rise and fall when he asked,

"Do you know any of the constellations?"

"Um, I know the Dipper and the North Star. I used to know more, but I've forgotten." I replied. He then began to name more of the stars until I feel asleep listening to his rich voice.

"Nina, wake up." Lilian was shaking my shoulders.

"Jesus! I'm up. Ow that hurts." I moan, sitting up. I do not advise anyone to sleep on the ground with a mat. It really hurts.

"What the hell where you doing outside?" She asked, as she started packing her bag.

"I couldn't sleep. So I came outside."

"You're lucky James was there so nothing attacked you in your sleep." She said offering me a hand to stand. I took it and dusted myself off. Most of the camp had been dismantled already.


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to the London Divisio

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 1: Welcome to the London Division**

I stared at myself in the mirror. The black clothing made me look bad ass, although my mother was right. I do look like a goth. Brushing this off I put the standard boring glasses on and walked out of the changing room. Many other people, around me age, were milling around waiting for something to happen. Picking a book off the shelf I attempted to make myself look busy, although I probably looked rather awkward. The first page had someone's name scrawled on it, surrounded by red hearts.

Grell Sutcliff.

Well whoever it was they had a bad taste in fiction. I started reading the first chapter but an uneasy feeling washed over me, making me shiver although it wasn't cold. I tired to ignore it but it would go away. Peeking slightly from my not-so-interesting-book I saw him from across the crowded room. He looked pretty average, nothing particularity interesting about him.

_Crap. He's coming over..._ I thought as I hastily busied myself, once more, with my not-so-interesting-book.

"Hello, my name is Jon O'Connor"

Hell. He had an Irish accent. +1 point.

"Hi... I'm Nina Murphy." I struggled to get my words out. Seriously what was wrong with me?

"I like what you're wearing."

I peered self consciously at myself. Currently I wore black leather shoes, black jeans, a black short sleeved shirt and a white tie. Then I inspected what Jon was wearing. He looked a little bit like a magician, just without the cape and top hat.

"I like what you're wearing." I replied repeating his exact words and tone.

_Wow Nina, you're an idiot. Say something; anything!_ I mentally hit myself.

"What are you reading?" He asked as he inspected the cover of the book. "Twilight. The greatest love story of the year. Interesting choice."

Before I could defend my remarkable taste in books or embarrass myself any further a tall man entered the pristine white room.

"Hello, my name is William T. Spears. Welcome to the Shinigami Dispatch Association, London division. It is a pleasure to meet you all." He paused. "We are on a tight schedule and we are currently nine minutes late. You may blame Mr. Sutcliff for the minor disturbance, but let us not waste any more time. I shall take you on a tour of the Shinigami Dispatch Association head quarters. Particularly the library and the cinematic records. Mr Sutcliff will proceed with the tour after lunch and sort out your living arrangements. Any questions raise a hand and no wondering off on your own. Now let us begin."

There is was again.

Sutcliff. And just like that we were herded out of the room with far greater speed then I thought possible. The rest of the head quarters was white as well. We were split into smaller groups and proceeded with our tour. William lead us off into a separate part of the institute. We approached a grand double set of doors and silently, we filed in.

"Now don't touch anything. We don't want you to change the whole course of history by adding curse words to these records." William continued his lecture on cinematic records as I walked towards an open book on a nearby table. The bookshelves stretched from ceiling to floor and covered this entire floor and many other by the looks of it as well. Surprised I saw words appearing on the page.

"Blackness and screaming. Flashing Lights then white strip lights blinding my eyes. Doctors and nurses yelling."

It was mine. My cinematic record. What was it doing on the desk? Open. Maybe I could rewrite my life. Maybe -

"Miss Murphy I have told you not to go wondering off on your own." I turned round to come face to face with Will. He was holding my shoulders in place and was only inches away from my face. His eyes were searching my eyes and he breath was soft against my lips.

"Sorry sir. It won't happen again" I stuttered. Man what was wrong with me today? It seems I cannot talk to any boy without stuttering.

We exited the library and started down another immaculate corridor. Will continued to talk about the history of the London Division as we entered, what I assumed was the weapons room. Inside was many different types of death scythes most of which were garden tools. I couldn't wait to get my own one and customise it. I started daydreaming about what kind I want. _A red leaf blower with gold trim._ I thought.A young man was leaning against the wall next to a bright red lawn mower. He was smirking and looking directly at me. He didn't stop staring at me until I had left the room.

Creep.

Soon enough lunch arrived and with it, where to sit. I choose a table on the outside of the lunch hall. Away from everyone else and away from conversations.

"May I sit here?" I jumped and found Jon standing not an inch away from me, laughing. Damn him. Although he did have a sexy laugh. +5 points.

I nodded as he sat and begun to eat his food. He kept looked at me and continued to do every now and then. I just stared at the table and did my best to ignore him.

"What's wrong?" He asked sounding genuinely concerned. How sweet.

"Nothing." I'm sure my one word answers were irritating him but I was not one for in-depth conversation. Besides I had other things to ponder. Such as the creepy guy from the weapons room. Why was he staring at me and what did he want? That's when I spotted him across the room.

He was laughing, his arms draped across two girl's shoulder. Man, he was a creep. Our eyes linked and he stopped smiling. I looked away hesitantly and continued to pick at my lunch.


	3. Chapter 2: Falling Maidens

作品派遣協会、ロンドン事業部

**Chapter 2: Falling Maiden**

Our group gathered once more and were met by red head, Mr. Sutcliff. Grell was a flamboyant and most of what he wore had red on it.

Red hair. I froze. 'Could this be him?' I thought as we got ushered along by Grell. Soon I began to tire of his continuous nattering and I zoned out. Once again my brain went back to the creepy guy from the weapons room.

"Let's go." Jon whispered down my neck. Not creepy at all.

"What?" I replied back.

"You heard. Let's go and explore this place for ourselves."

"But Will said that we shouldn't wander -"

"No wandering off on your own," He interrupted repeating Will's earlier instructions. He grabbed my arm and yanked me down one of the many corridors. "But if you're with me, neither of us are technically alone."

Now put yourself in my shoes. You are currently being dragged down a massive top secret head quarters for a super secret organisation for soul reapers, by a guy you met only a couple of hours earlier. Where does he take you?

If you guessed the most romantic place, the toilets, then give yourself -26 points.

"Jon. When you said you wanted to explore this place, I didn't think you meant the boy's bathroom. Now if you don't mind I am going to wait outside, this place is... icky." Not bothering to wait for an answer, I stalked out of the bathroom and straight into someone. Before I could fall he caught me and held me in his arms.

"Careful there, young lady. I am a trained to catch falling maidens but I am currently not on duty." I looked up. He had blonde hair, black at the ends. His eyes were sparkling and alive with amusement, as if he found me funny. His glasses were thick rimmed and his smile was impeccable. +4 points for smile.

"I know you. You're the creep from the weapons room." I said. His eyes looked hurt but the smile on his face remained as he said " Ronald Knoxx at your service." He helped me up and checked I was okay before continuing. "Now what is a young girl like you doing coming out of the boys bathroom? Weren't doing anything illegal were you?" He winked.

"I have a name and it's not young girl. It's Nina and what I was doing inside the boys bathroom is none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me." Attempting to barge past him but he stuck he left arm out, creating a barrier in front of me.

"You've got guts. It takes courage to talk back to a full shinigami. Now come on darling, why don't you and I have some fun?"

'Unfortunately' I never found out what Ronald meant by fun because Jon strode out of the bathroom. He looked at Ronald and then at me.

"Hello, My name is Ronald Knoxx." He shook hands with Jon who just stared at him coldly. Ronald turned to me and said "This is where I leave you Miss Nina. I shall see you around."

Jon linked arms with my own and began to drag me away. I sneaked a quick peak over my shoulder and saw Ronald leaning against the wall staring back at me.

Weirdo.

"Ah! Mr. O'Connor and Miss Murphy. How nice of you two to join us. Now everyone listen up!" Grell clapped his hands dramatically and the rest of the group gathered round. He paired us up and showed each of us our rooms in turn.

Mr. Sutcliff explained how newcomers were buddied with an experienced and skilled shinigami so they can help guide and support, as he showed us our new room. Three beds occupied each corner of the large room. Only one bed looked ready to sleep in. The covers of the bed were black with a white lawn mower on it. The walls around the bed were plastered with posters of lawn mowers and random girls.

_Seriously who puts pictures of lawn mowers on the wall?_ I thought as I walked to an unoccupied bed. Next to each bed was a small work desk. A large black sofa adorned with pillows occupied the area under the window and a door on the left opened up to a small bathroom. There was even a little kitchenette at the back of the room.

I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. It was peeling and cracked in places. A sudden idea came to me. I rummaged through my suitcase and pulled out a book. The book held many photos, postcards, letters and posters from my previous life. It was sort of weird to think as myself as dead but not dead. Surely that made me some sort of vampire? I cast the vampire thoughts from my mind and started tacking the photos and posters to the walls. Shelving units had been nailed to the wall above the bed. I placed my exceedingly small book collection on them. It started feeling like my old bedroom. Lastly I grabbed my iPod and speakers and plugged into the outlet and dumped my suitcase in the wardrobe.

"I might be proud, but least I'm proud of something, you've taken pride, in becoming nothing!"

"Nina! Turn the singing down a notch!" Jon, who I had sort of forgotten about was stood before me, dripping wet with only a towel around his waste. +7 for abs.

I stared at him, You Me At Six blaring in the background. He blushed and grabbed his clothes from his already made bed and legged it back into the bathroom.

A small knock on the door broke the silence and a young girl entered the room. She was young, tanned and small. Her attire consisted of a long sleeved white shirt with dark green detail. Over that she wore a black wait coat and black shorts. Strangely she wore no shoes and her glasses looked like the brown aviator type.

"Sorry, I did not mean to intrude. Mr. Spears has asked me to find Mr. Knox." She stood awkward at the door playing with the fraying edges of her wait jacket.

"Would you like to come in? I have Coffee? Or if you're feeling particularly bad ass we can pinch some of Ron's tea. So what will it be?"

"Coffee. Just nothing too strong please." She walked over to my bed and sat on the edge.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Lilian T. Spears. You are?"

_No way she was related to William?_

"Nina Murphy. Sorry for asking but are you related to William T. Spears?" She nodded and smiled.

"Yes, Will can be a hot head at times but we cannot choose our family. Besides he is a good brother." I carried our coffee over to the bed and she sipped her coffee.

At that moment, Jon walked out dressed in his magician (without the cape and top hat) clothes.

"Who are you?"

"How rude, you might have the decency to at least ask in more of a polite manner. My name Is Lilian T. Spears. And you are?"

"Jonathan O'Connor. I'm sorry. Being rude was not my intention." An awkward silence filled the air.


End file.
